Can't reach Washington Unemployment? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the ESD
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the ESD drops your call
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
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One last thing - make sure your business address is updated with Washington ESD. They send important notices by mail and you don't want to miss rate changes or audits.
Good reminder. I'll double-check that in my account.
Yeah I missed a rate notice once because I forgot to update my address after moving offices.
Thanks everyone for all the help! I think I have enough info to tackle this now. Going to try the early morning filing trick and see if I can get through the system.
Good luck! Feel free to post back if you run into any issues.
And remember the Claimyr option if you need to actually talk to someone at Washington ESD. Sometimes it's worth it to get direct answers.
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Final update - got my first unemployment payment today! Ended up being $478 per week after taxes, which is pretty close to what people estimated based on my salary. Thanks everyone for the help and advice.
Congrats! That gives me hope that mine will come through soon too.
Nice! Still waiting on mine but good to see the system is working for some people.
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Bottom line from my experience: lump sum severance + unemployment benefits = totally doable in Washington State. Just be upfront and honest about everything.
Perfect summary! Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. I feel much more prepared now.
Good luck with your claim! Hope everything goes smoothly for you.
One more thing to consider - if your severance includes continuation of health insurance, that typically doesn't affect your unemployment benefits either. Different benefit entirely.
Yes, my package includes 3 months of health insurance continuation. Good to know that won't be an issue.
Right, Washington ESD is mainly concerned with cash payments and whether they constitute wages.
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Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Sounds like you have some good options to explore, especially if you think you were misclassified.
Thanks everyone! This has been super helpful. I'm going to start gathering my documentation and probably file a claim to get the process started.
Anna Xian
If your claim gets held up in adjudication for any reason, that's when services like Claimyr become really valuable. I had an issue where my previous employer contested my claim and I couldn't get anyone on the phone to explain what was happening. Used Claimyr to finally talk to someone who walked me through the fact-finding process.
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Carmella Popescu
•Wait, employers can contest claims? I hope mine doesn't do that.
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Anna Xian
•They can, but most don't unless there were performance issues or misconduct involved. Mass layoffs usually go through without any problems.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
You mentioned warehouse work - depending on your skills you might want to look into retraining programs through WorkSource. Sometimes there's funding available for certification programs or community college courses while you're collecting benefits.
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Carmella Popescu
•I hadn't thought about retraining. That could be interesting if there's financial help available.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•Definitely worth exploring! The programs vary but there are often opportunities for people transitioning between industries.
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